BOSTON, Nov. 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Most people wouldn't pair beer and chocolate, but this holiday season, that's about to change. Samuel Adams and San Francisco-based craft chocolate maker TCHO have teamed up to introduce the Samuel Adams Beer Lover's Chocolate Box. The Brewers at Samuel Adams worked closely with TCHO's Chief Chocolate Maker Brad Kintzer to design the gift box so that each premium chocolate pairs with a Samuel Adams brew from the Samuel Adams Winter Classics Variety Pack. Just in time for holiday festivities and gifting, this assortment of specialty chocolates will prove to any foodie that beer and chocolate are the perfect combination.

Chocolate lovers and craft beer connoisseurs alike will enjoy the surprising flavor combinations. The malty sweetness and rich flavors of craft beer enhance, and are enriched by, the flavors of rich premium chocolate. The carbonation of the beer also cleanses the palate from the heavy finish of the chocolate; after a sip, the palate is ready for another taste. You may even become convinced that chocolate pairs better with craft beer than red wine, which is thought of as a traditional pairing.

Full-flavored craft beers like Samuel Adams have helped elevate craft beer to its rightful place at the table as an ideal food pairing and alternative to wine. In fact, in a recent Gallup poll*, beer topped wine (and liquor) as America's favorite alcoholic drink. Craft beer is an accessible food pairing too – for about the same price as a mediocre bottle of wine, you can buy a great six-pack of flavorful, craft beer made with the highest quality ingredients.

Jennifer Glanville, Brewery Manager at the Samuel Adams Boston Brewery shares her passion for food and beer pairings:"The idea of pairing beer and food has been around for centuries, but many people are just starting to explore the idea and have fun with it while learning what works. From a juicy burger to a rich cheese or dessert, there's a beer to create that perfect pairing – it's all about letting the flavor of one enhance the other," says Jennifer. "We're looking forward to hearing drinkers' responses to the Samuel Adams Beer Lover's Chocolate Box. So many people think of wine as the quintessential chocolate pairing, but we think this pairing will certainly change some minds."

What Brad Kintzer, TCHO Chief Chocolate Maker has to say:"As both a veteran chocolate maker and novice homebrewer, I'm amazed by the flavor complexity found in beer – and by the similarities in the chocolate making process and how complementary the resulting flavors can be. Great beer - like great chocolate - is the result of a careful fermentation that yields an array of flavor possibilities," says Brad. "Many of the flavors found in cocoa and chocolate can also be found in beer, and you can taste the synergy when they are paired. Many food and drink combinations come off as a bit forced as 'pairings;' they just don't seem to work together flavor-wise. In developing the Beer Lover's Chocolate Box, it was surprisingly natural to pair Samuel Adams brews with our TCHO chocolates."

Where to find the chocolates and the brews:The Samuel Adams Beer Lover's Chocolate Box includes 12 8g chocolates, and the first 150 orders will also include two Samuel Adams Perfect Pint Glasses. The chocolate box is available nationwide for $16.95 at TCHO.com/SamuelAdams; limited quantities will also be available at the Samuel Adams Boston Brewery gift shop. Samuel Adams Winter Classics Variety Pack is available through December for a suggested retail price of $13.99. To find the brews near you, visit http://www.samueladams.com/find-a-sam.aspx.

NYC Beer and Wine Sommelier, Gianni Cavicchi recommends some additional food and beer pairing tips:"Craft beer comes in such a variety of styles that it can complement most any meal and can add dimension to recipes in cooking. Beef is one of the best pairings for Samuel Adams Boston Lager. The brew's upfront malt flavor matches the caramelized flavors of the meat, and its hoppy finish prepares the palate for the next bite," says Gianni. "Samuel Adams Boston Lager is also a great beer to match the intensity of a creamy cheese, like a Roquefort blue cheese. The deep flavors and firm texture of blue cheese needs a bold and well hopped beer to cleanse the palate, and the earthy, nutty, and smoky flavors in the beer are reflected and enhanced in the cheese. And of course, pairing chocolate and beer is a win-win. In fact, it's actually better to pair beer with chocolate than wine because sometimes the intensity of chocolate takes over wine and the acidity in wine doesn't balance."

Samuel Adams Beer Lover's Chocolate Box Pairing Notes

Samuel Adams Boston Lager® + PureNotes™ Dark "Chocolatey" (70%)

The malt character and subtle Noble Hop bitterness of Boston Lager bring out the rich, fudgy flavor and malty sweetness of TCHO's "Chocolatey."

Samuel Adams®Winter Lager + PureNotes™ Dark "Citrus" (67%)

Winter Lager's rich, hearty flavor is a pleasant balance to the delicate, smooth flavor of TCHO's "Citrus." The subtle citrus notes in both the beer and the chocolate complement each other perfectly.

Samuel Adams® White Christmas + PureNotes™ Dark "Fruity" (68%)

White Christmas is a crisp, unfiltered white ale blended with holiday spices. TCHO's "Fruity" chocolate boasts bright berry notes that highlight the citrus and wheat characters of this ale, while bringing out the warmth of its spices.

Samuel Adams® Holiday Porter + PureNotes™ Dark "Nutty" (65%)

Holiday Porter is a robust and flavorful brew. The complex espresso and roasty notes of this beer are deliciously accentuated by the roasted nut and toasted malt notes of TCHO's "Nutty" chocolate.

Samuel Adams® Old Fezziwig® Ale + SeriousMilk™ "Classic" (39%)

Old Fezziwig Ale is bursting with spices of the season and the rich flavors of roasted malt. The creamy, caramel notes of TCHO's "Classic" milk chocolate balance delicately with this beer's ginger and cinnamon undertones.

Samuel Adams® Chocolate Bock + SeriousMilk™ "Cacao" (53%)

Chocolate Bock is a dark, decadent beer with a big, malty character, combined with the subtle sweetness of chocolate. TCHO's "Cacao" dark milk chocolate brings out the chocolate notes of this beer and complements the brew's nutty and fruity notes.

Connect with Samuel Adams:

For additional information, including Samuel Adams recipes and pairing suggestions, and to locate a retailer, visit www.samueladams.com.

ABOUT THE BOSTON BEER COMPANY:The Boston Beer Company began in 1984 with a generations-old family recipe that Founder and Brewer Jim Koch uncovered in his father's attic. Inspired and unafraid to challenge conventional thinking about beer, Jim brought the recipe to life in his kitchen. Pleased with the results of his work, Jim decided to sample his beer with bars in Boston in the hopes that drinkers would appreciate the complex, full-flavored beer he brewed fresh in America. That beer was aptly named Samuel Adams Boston Lager®, in recognition of one of our nation's great founding fathers, a man of independent mind and spirit. Little did Jim know at the time, Samuel Adams Boston Lager soon became a catalyst of the American craft beer revolution.

Today, The Boston Beer Company brews more than 50 styles of beer. It relentlessly pursues the development of new styles and the perfection of classic beers by searching the world for the finest ingredients. Using the traditional four vessel brewing process, the Company often takes extra steps like dry-hopping, barrel-aging and a secondary fermentation known as krausening. The Company has also pioneered another revolution, the 'extreme beer' movement, where it seeks to challenge drinker's perceptions of what beer can be. The Boston Beer Company has been committed to elevating the image of American craft beer by entering festivals and competitions around the globe, and in the past five years has won more awards in international beer competitions than any other brewery in the world. As an independent company, brewing quality beer remains its single focus. Although Samuel Adams beer is America's largest-selling craft beer, it accounts for only one percent of the U.S. beer market. The Boston Beer Company will continue its independently-minded quest to brew great beer and to advocate for the growth of craft beer across America. For more information, please visit www.samueladams.com.

ABOUT TCHO: TCHO is a craft chocolate maker in San Francisco, supplying bars of dark and milk chocolate, chocolate drenched treats, and drinking chocolate to consumers and professional chefs nationwide. In addition to their store and website, TCHO products can be found in over 850 gourmet specialty and natural food retail accounts nationwide, including Whole Foods, Fairways, Gelsons, Bristol Farms, etc. Look for TCHO as an ingredient on dessert menus at your favorite restaurants, too.

TCHO is New American Chocolate. What does it take to make New American Chocolate? Obsession. Obsession with flavor. Obsession with innovation. Obsession over fusing the two to craft the very best chocolate, from bean to bar. The obsession begins at origin. We don't just buy good beans, we help make the best beans. TCHOSource is our unique sourcing program, designed to obtain the best beans in the world while enabling the producers of those beans to earn a better living. For more information about TCHO's flavor obsessions and the TCHOSource program, please check out our website at http://www.tcho.com/tchosource.

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